Shopkins

Shopkins are a range of tiny, collectable toys, manufactured by Moose Toys. Based on grocery store items, each plastic figure has a recognisable face and unique name. They also have special finishes like translucent, glitter, or squishy. The collectable toys (which are designated as common, rare, ultra rare, special edition, limited edition, and exclusive) also have lines of clothing, trading cards, and other merchandise.

Shopkins
Current logo for Shopkins
TypeFigures
Inventor(s)Paul Solomon
CompanyMoose Toys
CountryAustralia
Availability2014–present
MaterialsPlastic
Slogan"Once you shop... you can't stop!"
Official website

The toy line began in 2014.[1][2] As of September 2019, there are twelve seasons of the toys and additional seasons like halloween, easter, and christmas.

History

Shopkins was designed and developed by Moose Toys in Melbourne. Co-chief Paul Solomon credits his mother Jacqui Tobias, director of girls’ products, for the idea of Shopkins.[3] Moose Toys had success with their line of Trash Pack and Grossery Gang collectible figurines which were geared towards boys, but overall lacked a market for girls. Shopkins was produced initially as a similar product for girls — however, it appeals to both genders.[4][5]

Shopkins universe

Characters
Shopkins products

Shopkins figurines are roughly 1 inch in height and 1/2 inch in width, roughly the size of a United States Quarter. Each figurine has a face, name, and its own personality. They are distributed in bright coloured packaging with bubble letters.[6] Shopkins are based on grocery items such as a sweet apple named Apple Blossom, a chocolate bar named Cheeky Chocolate, a lipstick named Lippy Lips, and a chocolate chip cookie named Kooky Cookie.[7][8]

There are hundreds of Shopkins in the Shopkins World.[9] Shopkins are organized into categories such as Sweets or Bakery. Shopkins are collected and valued based on their rarity. Moose toys classifies the Shopkins degrees of rarity as Common, Exclusive, Limited Edition, Rare, Special Edition, and Ultra Rare.[10]

Books

Moose Toys launched a series of children's books about Shopkins including Scholastic's Shopkins: Welcome to Shopville.[11]

Collector cards

Moose Toys released their first trading card set in 2015.

Shopkins movies

An animated film called Shopkins: Chef Club was released on DVD 25 October 2016 by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment to promote the sixth season of Shopkins toys. The movie had mostly positive reviews, although some reviewers had concerns at the overt consumerism.[12]

Two sequels, Shopkins: World Vacation and Shopkins: Wild, were released on October 11, 2017 and April 17, 2018.


Web series
Main article: List of Shopkins episodes

In August 2014, Moose Toys built brand awareness with their Shopkins short cartoon videos on their YouTube channel Shopkins world,[4] but it was the YouTube videos of consumers unwrapping and playing with the toy that helped bring the line to mainstream prominence.[13][14]

Shopkins Direct

From May 2017 to March 2018, a licensee of Shopkins/Moose Toys, "Shopkins Direct", offered a subscription box with exclusive Shopkins accessories and merchandise,[15] which was described as a quarterly/seasonal subscription service delivering accessories, apparel, and other exclusive merchandise featuring Shopkins characters. Box contents included Shopkins brand items such as plushies, lip balm, and limited-edition figures. (Additionally, exclusive Shopkins have been distributed via Shopkin pop-up chain stores located in North America.)

Counterfeit Shopkins
Counterfeit Shopkins in packaging with "Funny Sweet" categories.

Counterfeit Shopkins began to surface around mid-2015, including those with "Funny Sweet" or "Shopkinsins" on the packaging, which can refer to Shopkins in colours which Moose Toys never officially produced, such as Boo Hoo Onion being in light blue and Chee Zee in orange. The arms and other parts might be broken, and the paint chips off easily. [16] A number of sellers on websites offer counterfeit Shopkins, which can include item pictures which have the "Shopkins" branding, most likely as a way to avoid the listing being taken away under intellectual property policies of the website and/or store.

Cases

Two factories in Yiwu producing counterfeit Shopkins toys were raided by local police in China in mid-2015,[17] and Moose Toys stated they will take legal action against anyone selling counterfeit Shopkins,[18] which included a chain of Thriftway businesses selling counterfeit Shopkins.[19]

Media

Shopkins served as inspiration for a design challenge on season 16 of Project Runway.[20]

See also

References
  1. "Shopkins™ Is The Biggest Tiny Toy Crossing Retail Registers, With Season Two Characters To Continue Sales Momentum". PR Newswire. 24 November 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  2. "2015 to be a strong year for Shopkins".
  3. "Shopkins Inventor Among Toy Nominees".
  4. Nechamkin, Sarah (22 September 2015). "How Shopkins Became the Biggest Tiny Toy on the Planet". Racked. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  5. Cam Lindsay (27 August 2015). "Shopkins the latest toy craze to captivate Canadian kids | Toronto Star". Thestar.com. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  6. Lebar, Erin. "Girls (and parents) snapping up Shopkins, the latest collectible trend". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  7. Van Estrop, Chad (15 November 2014). "Christmas 2014: Best toys and gifts for boys and girls". Herald Sun. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  8. "Moose Toys™ New Little Live Pets™ Birds Look and Sound Like a Real Pet Bird - Business Wire". 31 July 2014.
  9. Jill Thompson. "How Many Shopkins are there total". Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  10. "ShopkinsWorld.com". Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  11. Barnes & Noble. "Shopkins: Welcome to Shopville". Barnes & Noble.
  12. Jill Thompson. "Shopkins Chef Club Movie Reviews". Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  13. Moose Toys (24 November 2014). "Shopkins™ Is The Biggest Tiny Toy Crossing Retail Registers, With Season Two... -- LOS ANGELES, Nov. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --".
  14. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 23 December 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. "CultureFly Announces Shopkins Direct". StreetInsider.com. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  16. Moose Toys (12 August 2015). "The Official guide to spotting counterfeit Shopkins - YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  17. "Police Raid Chinese Toy Factory: Moose Enterprise and Local Police Seize Over 150,000 Counterfeit Shopkins Toys in China". PR Newswire. 31 July 2015.
  18. "Moose Continues to Defend Against Counterfeit Shopkins". aNB Media News. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  19. "Moose Toys Pty Ltd v. Thriftway BLVD. Drug Corp". Legale Inc. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  20. http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/project-runway/season-16/episode-9
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